Meet Ellen Polk | Book and Content Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ellen Polk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ellen, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
There was a time when I considered work to be both my career and my hobby. It will come as no surprise that this mindset eventually lead to burnout. Before I made the transition to working for myself full-time, I was balancing the commitment of a full-time project management job at a small technology company with the needs of my clients and the demands of my business. This arrangement often meant I worked well over sixty hours a week and left me little to no time to spend with my husband or take care of my well-being. When stepped away from my corporate career and embraced full-time entrepreneurship, I knew I was going to have to set boundaries with myself and my clients so I could re-establish a healthier work-life balance and make time to continue learning, connect with my community, grow my business, and fill my creative cup. I think the flexibility of entrepreneurship allows for an aggregate balance. Some weeks may contain equal amounts of rest and work. Some weeks may be hectic and require weekend hours. Some weeks may allow for slow learning and ideation. In the end, it all evens out.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have an English degree from Indiana University with a focus on Public and Professional Communication which basically means I spent four years thinking about how we engage with language and the power of clear, concise, and compelling storytelling. I’ve always known I was going to work with words, but even as I graduated from college and started my editing business, it wasn’t until a few months later when I started my corporate career that I really began to understand my “why.” In the corporate setting, I spent a lot of time helping really intelligent people put their knowledge and know-how down on paper and create coherent and compelling narratives. At the same time, I was riding the high of working with my first few content and book editing clients, and I knew I would eventually end up moving out of the corporate setting to pursue my business full-time. I wanted to be in a position to help independent authors and creative professionals tell their stories in a way that turns casual readers into a loyal audience and positions them as an expert in their genre or industry, And now, that’s exactly what I get to do every single day. I sometimes wish I’d made the leap to full-time entrepreneurship earlier, but because I chose to slowly grow my business alongside my corporate career, I was able to leverage my project management background and what I learned about interpersonal relationships in a corporate setting into creating an elevated experience for my clients. I’ve learned that slow and steady wins the race and that sometimes taking messy action is better than waiting for perfection. Not only is my “why” focused on supporting authors and business owners, I want to empower other editors, writers, and word nerds to pursue their passions and career goals because it is entirely possible to achieve your dreams.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not an Arizona resident but I have visited the state on several occasions. I currently reside in Evansville, Indiana.

If you were to visit Evansville for the weekend, I’d recommend a visit to the riverfront, several locally-owned shops and bookstores, and a trip to the Arts District. If you’re up for an evening stroll, nothing beats a summer sunset over the Ohio River followed by an evening at a brewery or a quick stop by an ice cream shop. If you’re up for a bit of shopping, Your Brother’s Bookstore and Bluestocking Social are two amazing local bookstores and you can spend an afternoon visiting all the small businesses thriving on Main Street. If you’re in town in the summer or early fall, you can experience the monthly First Friday arts celebration or the week-long Fall Festival which is one of the largest street festivals in the United States.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are several people I’d like to thank who have no idea I even exist. Before I started my business in 2017, I was a dedicated reader of the editing and copywriting blogs written by Mollie Reads and Ashlyn Writes. Both women also had YouTube channels which provided a wealth of knowledge for me as I searched for a path forward in my career. Around this time, I also read “The Subversive Copyeditor” by Carol Fisher Saller and “Grit” by Angela Duckworth, both of which were incredibly affirming and are now well-worn, annotated tomes I’ll never get rid of. Of course, I must also thank my husband for believing in my abilities and my vision and for encouraging me to take the leap into full-time entrepreneurship.

Website: www.ellenedits.com

Instagram: @_ellenedits

Linkedin: Ellen Marker-Polk

Twitter: @_ellenedits

Other: TikTok @ellen.edits.words